


A Mile in Your Shoes

by TwilightKnight17



Series: Shuake Week 2020 [5]
Category: Persona 5, Persona Series
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Bodyswap, Gen, Swearing, What am I doing, crack taken semi-seriously, two dumb stressed children
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-21
Updated: 2020-11-21
Packaged: 2021-03-09 19:47:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,126
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27651553
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TwilightKnight17/pseuds/TwilightKnight17
Summary: Seeing the world from someone else’s perspective can provide valuable insight into their mental state and motivations.Usually, though, it’s not supposed to be quite so literal.
Relationships: Akechi Goro & Kurusu Akira
Series: Shuake Week 2020 [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2017159
Comments: 11
Kudos: 98
Collections: ShuAke Week 2020





	A Mile in Your Shoes

**Author's Note:**

> Nov. 20th, Day 5: **Opposites** || ~~Home~~ || ~~Outfits~~
> 
> Happy Interrogation Day, everyone. :P
> 
> This was supposed to be silly, and then my notes doc got a bit out of control, and _then_ I nuked half the doc into chunks so I could just write the fun part. So… crack taken semi-seriously? I wrote this all in one day and barely proofread it. Oh god what am I doing.

“Sooooooooo,” Ann said brightly, leaning over the back of her chair and practically sprawling over Goro’s desk. “Have you decided where you’re going for the social studies trip yet, Akira?”

Goro glanced up at her, tilting his head. “Social studies trip? I completely forgot. What were the options again?”

It had taken him two weeks to get used to being called ‘Akira’ or ‘Kurusu’, depending on who was talking to him. Now, months later, it was almost second nature. After waking up in a dingy attic as someone else, he’d panicked, but thankfully his acting had pulled him through. His attempts to find the asshole wandering around in his body hadn’t amounted to much, but he was on the verge of a breakthrough. He could feel it.

“You can go to Roppongi to tour a bank, the Diet Building for a tour of the assembly chambers, orrrrr you could make the correct choice and come with me to the TV station!” Ann chimed. “It’ll be fun! We’re doing two days, and we’re going to learn about all the behind the scenes stuff, and then sit in on a variety-show taping. I hear they’re even going to be interviewing the Detective Prince!”

Goro’s eyes widened. “Definitely the TV station. Thanks for reminding me, Ann.” This had to be the breakthrough he was looking for!

“Lady Ann is so considerate,” Morgana said from inside his desk, and Goro steadfastly ignored him.

Ann giggled. “Wow, you perked right up when I mentioned Akechi-san. Don’t tell me you’ve got a crush on him just like all his fangirls.”

Goro stuck his tongue out at her. “Fuck no. I just think it might be interesting. He probably has an opinion on our little side project, after Madarame’s confession was so public.”

“God, you’re right.” Ann stuck her tongue out in return. “Maybe he’ll think we’re cool! We’re all trying to stop the bad guys, after all.”

“Maybe.” Goro didn’t actually care what he thought. He was more interested in dragging Kurusu into a corner and forcing him to fix this mess. All he had to do was figure out how to get him alone.

“Just be careful,” Morgana cautioned. “The last thing we need is the Detective Prince knowing anything about the Phantom Thieves.”

Oh, if Morgana only knew. Goro reached down to ruffle his ears. “We’re always careful, Morgana. Even when our plans are stupid.”

“Hey! The plan to get into Madarame’s locked door wasn’t stupid!”

Ann hopped to her feet. “I’m gonna go bully Ryuji into picking the TV station, too. Make sure you actually eat lunch today! You’re going to pass out from hunger one of these days.”

“I will, I will. Morgana will make sure of it.” It was amazing how quickly his eating and sleeping habits had changed courtesy of his new roommate. Goro hated to admit it, but he felt better in general, even after running hits on his own in Mementos.

He opened his bag to let Morgana jump inside. “I suppose we had best go look for some food, then.”

“I want yakisoba pan!”

“I don’t think they have that today, but we’ll see.”

* * *

* * *

_**Day 1:** _

_I’ve decided to keep a journal to document this bizarre phenomenon. I don’t know why or how, but I’ve woken up as some messy, scruffy teenager living in an attic. I was dragged to a school that I am apparently supposed to be attending, berated for being on probation for a crime that I don’t understand, and locked into this stupid cafe. Supposedly “I” assaulted someone. I could call my phone, but I don’t want to risk tipping off whoever this violent delinquent is who presumably has my body. Especially now that I’ve discovered that he has the metaverse navigator on his phone. I cannot risk anything happening before I figure out how to switch back, so for now, I need to wait and gather more information._

_The fact that the phone has the navigator is also a boon, though. I can still access the secure app where I receive names, so I can ensure that I still complete my tasks. My plan won’t be ruined just because of this minor setback. For now, I’ll play along with this new life, so that my “host” doesn’t call the police on me. And when I get the drop on this ‘Kurusu’, I’ll force him to undo whatever this is, and then silence him._

_For now, I’m going to clean this goddamn trash pile of a room. There’s nothing better to do, and if I’m going to be stuck here for a few days, I refuse to live in filth._

* * *

* * *

When he met up with Ryuji after school, ready for their afternoon workout, the field trip was the first topic of conversation.

“Yo, Akira!” Ryuji called, waving. “Did Ann bully you into picking the TV station too?”

“It was the least boring option,” Goro said smoothly. “Who wants to go to the Diet Building, of all places?”

“Dude, I know, right? At least if we go to the TV station, we might get to see some cute idols or something.” Ryuji started his warm-up stretches, and Goro joined him. “Hopefully that’s who they end up interviewing, other than that stupid Detective Prince.”

“Not a fan?” Goro questioned wryly. God, if he didn’t fix this soon, one day the irony was going to kill him.

Ryuji scoffed. “I’ve seen him on TV a couple times when my mom’s been watching. He just seems so _fake_ , y’know? No one’s that goddamn perfect.”

“I hate people like that,” Goro muttered. “Playing pretend all the time as if other people can’t tell they’re full of shit.”

One day, when Shido was taken care of and his goals were complete, maybe he’d be able to stop and be normal. But that was wishful thinking at best. For now, ‘Goro Akechi’ was a horrible, smiling marionette. Even if he was free of the role for a little while, the reprieve wouldn’t last forever. As soon as he got his body back, it was right back to business as usual.

* * *

* * *

_**Day 2:** _

_Fuck, fuck, FUCK_

_I came back from doing my task this morning and apparently left the nav open, because some stupid boy managed to stumble on all the appropriate keywords for a Palace on the way to that fucking school. I was trying not to show the full extent of my abilities, but that just led to us being captured. The whole thing was a fucking disaster. I was late for school, and my “host” was displeased, to put it mildly. He was also upset that I threw half of his disgusting books in the garbage, so I had to retrieve those._

_But I met...a strange creature today. It talked about “treasures” and a “change of heart”. I wasn’t aware that there was a way to create such a drastic change without driving a shadow psychotic. If it knows something like that, I feel that I need to go back and find out what else it knows._

_Thank goodness I’ve apparently swapped with someone else with the ability to summon a persona. If I didn’t have Robin and Loki, I would be out of luck. For once, something worked out in my favor._

* * *

* * *

As they jogged around the school, Ryuji looked over at Goro. “Hey, do you remember all that stuff with the track team?”

Oh, Goro remembered. It was a large part of Ryuji’s awakening and his personal grudge against Kamoshida, of course. “Yeah. Did something happen?”

Ryuji huffed. “Well, I heard that they’re gonna reinstate the track team, and Yamaoka’s gonna take over coaching. Which is effin’ bullshit, because Yamaoka was basically Kamoshida’s lapdog the whole time he was here. Nothing’s gonna get any better if he’s in charge.”

“...why the hell do you care?” Goro asked bluntly. He didn’t understand these people sometimes.

“They’re gonna end up getting abused again,” Ryuji said, as if that made a difference.

“And?” Goro rolled his eyes. “Why are you so concerned about the people who treated you like garbage for being the only person to stand up for himself? They wanted you to shut up and be quiet and keep being hurt, so that… what? So that they could get college recommendation letters? So that Kamoshida could keep hurting students? For fuck’s sake. Don’t waste your time on them. At least admit that you’re doing this for the sake of your own morals, not for them. They don’t deserve it.”

Ryuji slowed down, gradually coming to a stop on the sidewalk. “...I mean, yeah. It’s not that I give a shit about what they think of me at this point. They’re not gonna want me back either way. I just don’t wanna see anyone get hurt if I can do something about it.”

“Sickenly noble,” Goro said, “but understandable.” He smirked. “So. What are we going to do about him?”

Ryuji grinned.

* * *

* * *

_**Day 7:** _

_Takamaki’s friend jumped off the roof today. ~~I’m worried that~~ ~~I can’t belie~~ I’m going to do something about Kamoshida. He is a disgusting piece of shit, and that’s a purely selfish motive, but it will also allow me to observe if this “change of heart” that Morgana describes really works. Sakamoto is enraged as well, so I’ll have at least one partner. This won’t be as easy as just putting a bullet in his fucking head._

_I spoke to Takamaki this afternoon about my mother. I didn’t mean to. It just sort of happened. But she was kind about it, without being pitying. I think somehow it helped her to know that someone else has gone through the same sort of thing that she is currently. ~~It felt~~ ~~I think tha~~_

_Sakamoto has been surprisingly tolerable to be around. It’s refreshing to not have to uphold a polite mask constantly. And the scrutiny of my classmates is not unfamiliar, but in this instance, they leave me alone, rather than seeking my attention. I feel slightly more relaxed, I think, even if Sakamoto does look at me oddly every time I use the word “fuck”._

* * *

* * *

Sojiro was waiting when he returned to Leblanc, and he knelt to let Morgana out of his bag before sitting down at the counter. Sojiro pushed a plate of curry across the counter, raising an eyebrow. “Out with your friends this afternoon?”

“I was working out with Sakamoto,” Goro replied, pulling the plate close. Getting used to someone feeding him daily was even harder to get used to than remembering to answer to Kurusu’s name. Considering his first impression of Sojiro, he’d expected to be left to fend for himself. But he instead got to eat delicious curry every day, and use any leftover ingredients in the fridge if there wasn’t curry left. He hadn’t gone to bed on an empty stomach in weeks, because upon realizing that he couldn’t cook, Sojiro had taken the time to teach him a few basic recipes.

And he hadn’t burned anything since week two!

“I’m glad you’re making friends,” Sojiro commented. “I was a little worried when you got here, but they seem like a good influence on you.”

“They’re nice enough,” Goro said, trying not to talk with his mouth full.

“Well, if you ever want to have people over, I don’t mind, just make sure to keep it down if the cafe’s open.”

Goro didn’t want to rely on people. He didn’t _need_ anyone. But it was...nice to have an adult looking after him. Someone who wasn’t angry at him all the time, or wishing he wasn’t around. Someone doing something as simple as making sure he’d eaten today.

“After you finish up, do you want to help around the shop for a bit?” Sojiro asked. “I can show you a new blend of beans.”

Goro hesitated. “...yeah, I would,” he said honestly.

* * *

* * *

_**Day 19:** _

_Well, Kamoshida’s “treasure” has been stolen, and now we wait._

_Morgana has invited himself to live in my attic. I don’t mind. I can ask him more about the metaverse._

_~~Having teammates feels~~ ~~I don’t mind ha~~ This has worked out surprisingly well._

* * *

* * *

“I like the weight of this one.”

The next afternoon, he was picking up new weapons at the airsoft shop, testing out the balance of a ray gun. He sort of missed his real gun, but at the same time, he didn’t.

His experience with real weapons helped choose effective models, though.

“You know, kid, I find it interesting that you get the most realistic ones, you’re picky about the details, you spare no expense… and then you choose the ray gun and the laser sword,” Iwai pointed out with a chuckle.

Goro waved a hand. “We’ve all got to have some indulgences, don’t we?” he said with a wry smile. “I like the way they look.”

“Fair enough.” Iwai boxed up the rest of his choices, ringing him up. “Just be careful out there. I don’t know what you’re up to with this collection, but keep yourself safe, got it?”

“I always do.” Goro looked away to poke through his wallet. Kurusu’s wallet? Their wallet. It was always weird to hear any of his confidants express concern for him. They had a business arrangement, that was all.

Iwai grinned crookedly. “Good. Wouldn’t want anything to happen to my favorite gun enthusiast.”

Goro snorted. “Of course not. I’m your best customer.”

“Oh, hush.” He helped Goro load up his arms with boxes, and held the door for him. “Get that shit home before someone sees it.”

“Yes sir~” Goro mocked, unreasonably pleased when Iwai laughed and shut the door in his face instead of scolding him.

* * *

* * *

_**Day 26:** _

_I saw Shido today. The “Phantom Thieves” went to a celebratory buffet at the Wilton Hotel, and he happened to be there. It was strange, to have him look at me with no idea who I was. After seeing how Kamoshida groveled onstage, perhaps a change of heart would suit Shido rather well. Perhaps he’d break down in front of the entire country._

_Sakamoto and Takamaki want to keep going with this little endeavor. I agreed, and they made me their leader. I doubt they’d feel the same if they knew I was responsible for the psychotic breakdowns._

_~~Part of me wants to stop. But if I do, Shido will have the person currently inhabiting my body killed, and I do want it back eventually. So far I’ve managed to keep everything balanced, but~~ _

_~~Living like this permanently might not be so ba~~ _

_Morgana is bitching at me to go to bed. Not a single adult has ever given a shit about my wellbeing since I lost my mother, and now a cat of all things is babying me. What the fuck._

* * *

* * *

The night before the TV station trip found Goro at his desk, fiddling with lockpicks under Morgana’s ‘expert’ supervision. He’d definitely learned so many new things, just from having Morgana around. Things he never would have had a reason to know or try before. There were… more positive things about this situation than he’d expected.

“...Morgana,” he began after a moment. “You know a lot about cognition. Have you ever encountered anything where two people’s consciousnesses could switch places? Is there any way that you could return from the metaverse wrong?”

Morgana somehow frowned despite being a cat. “Like bodyswapping? I’ve never heard of anything like that happening. If we figure it out, though, can I try to steal myself a human body?”

“Shame on you, turning someone else into a cat forever,” Goro teased.

“...I guess.” Morgana licked his paw. “Why were you asking, anyway?”

“It was just a thought I had,” Goro said as casually as possible. “We’ve been going back and forth very cavalierly, I just want to be sure that there are no adverse effects.”

“Oh!” Morgana perked up. “That’s a good thought, Akira! This is why we made you our leader.” His ears flicked. “As far as I know, there shouldn’t be any side-effects of going back and forth, but we should keep an eye out just in case.”

“Yeah.” Goro knew there weren’t any. If so, he’d have experienced them long before now. “We need to cover all of our bases, if we’re going to keep going with this.”

He reached for his journal, and Morgana’s tail swished. “Oh, are you going to write now? I’ll go wait on the bed, then.” He hopped off the desk, leaving Goro to flip the journal open. Now that he was only a few hours from meeting Kurusu face to face, he didn’t know what was left to say, but he flipped through the other pages for a few minutes before settling in to write.

* * *

* * *

_**Day 35:** _

_I saw “myself” today by chance at the train station. He took one look at me and took off in the other direction, and I lost him in the crowd. I think it’s safe to say that he doesn’t want to give my body back, based on that reaction._

_We’ve discovered another Palace, so after that’s dealt with, I’ll start seriously researching everything I can find about Akira Kurusu. Then I just have to figure out how to confront him._

_It’s very strange playing Shido from both sides. Breaking his competition, and then targeting the Palaces of his allies. ~~Perhaps my teammates would help if I wanted to go after him. He certainly fits their profile for a chan~~_

* * *

* * *

_**Day 48:** _

_Fucking hell, Akira Kurusu is so blindingly average. I found his old school records, a gymnastics competition he won in middle school, and a heavily-redacted police report, but the report is the ONLY suspicious thing. What the hell._

_The report would only be redacted if the victim was someone with enough influence. Kurusu apparently attacked someone very important in the middle of the street. But why? He has no other history of violence._

_Morgana is throwing another fit. We have that stupid cleanup field trip tomorrow. Ugh. I seriously need a breakthrough here._

* * *

* * *

_**Day 59:** _

_This might be over tomorrow. I’m not sure I know how I feel._

* * *

* * *

For a field trip, they really weren’t learning much. After a brief tour, Goro and Ryuji had gotten roped into helping move cables and equipment around, while Ann had dealt with some sketchy junior producer trying to convince her to do an audition. By the time they met up in one of the back hallways, all three of them were done with this whole thing. Goro hadn’t even managed to track down Kurusu.

“We have _got_ to go do something fun after this,” Ann huffed. “Isn’t Dome Town nearby? We can at least go do some rides and stuff before we go home. Maybe get some food, too. Theme park food always cheers me up.”

“I could go for that,” Ryuji commented. He elbowed Goro. “What do you think, Akira?”

“I…” But before he could respond, his eyes widened as he watched _himself_ walk around the corner. His body, his hair, his briefcase. He was frozen, staring. This was the moment he’d been waiting for, and he couldn’t make himself move.

“Dude?” Ryuji questioned. “You okay?”

Ann squealed quietly. “It’s fine, it’s fine. He’s a big fan of Akechi-kun, and _that’s him._ ” She waved. “Hi, Akechi-kun!”

Kurusu startled and looked up. “Hello,” he began, and then he froze, too, staring at Goro in something like horror. “Oh god.”

And that, finally, allowed Goro to move again. **_“YOU.”_**

He hadn’t planned out how he was going to react when he finally saw Kurusu. If he had, he probably wouldn’t be reacting like this. Kurusu let out an undignified screech that sounded very strange in Goro’s normally-pleasant voice and tried to run, but Goro lunged forward and tackled him to the ground before he could get anywhere. “Oh no you don’t! Give me my body back or so help me I will mutilate yours!”

“Please don’t murder me!” Kurusu wailed.

“Akira, what the hell?! You’re attacking the Detective Prince!” Ann cried. Ryuji grabbed his arm, trying to get him off of Kurusu, and Ann tried to pry his fingers out of their grip on the ‘detective’s’ shirt. “I didn’t think you were a fan in a weird yandere way!”

“Th-That’s your friend?” Kurusu said frantically. “Please don’t let him kill me!”

“I’m really sorry about this,” Ann apologized, as Ryuji finally managed to lever Goro off of him.

Goro spat and hissed, cursing this body that didn’t have any of his old arm strength. “Sakamoto, _let go of me!”_

“You just attacked a guy, Akira! What’s going on?!”

“I wouldn’t have had to if he hadn’t tried to run away!” Goro snarled. “Let go, I’m serious.”

“Why wouldn’t I run away from you, knowing what you are?” Kurusu demanded, scrambling back to his feet.

“Oh, great.” Lovely. Wonderful. Of course, it had been two months, he probably knew Goro’s entire life story by now. “Because we’re in the hallway of a TV station with three witnesses, and _I wouldn’t kill my own body_ , you goddamn imbecile. I just want you to put us back to normal!”

“Why do you think I know how to do that?!”

“Well, one of us did this, and it wasn’t me!”

“WHAT ARE YOU TWO TALKING ABOUT?!” Morgana screamed, and both boys jumped and went silent.

Kurusu recovered first, trying to straighten his coat and brush his hair from his face. “Look. My name is Akira Kurusu,” he began, and Goro thought it was a goddamn miracle that Ann and Ryuji didn’t interrupt him right there. “I got to Tokyo on April 9th, and when I woke up the next morning, I looked like this. I was in a completely unfamiliar apartment, in a completely unfamiliar body, and I had no idea what to do. I’d just gotten a new phone before I left for Tokyo, and couldn’t remember my new number, so I couldn’t call my phone and try to figure out what happened.”

“Assuming this is true, you knew where you were supposed to be living, though. Why didn’t you just go there?” Ann asked.

Kurusu made a face. “Because that morning, while I was crawling around in a panic trying to figure out if I was dreaming, I got a phone call from a man asking me whether I was prepared for my next target. I told him yes, of course, because what else do you do when a scary man with a voice that gives you a headache calls and asks if you’re ready to kill someone? But I was panicked. I didn’t know what was going to happen. So I spent all day reading Goro Akechi’s wiki pages and social media, hoping I’d be able to fake it long enough for whatever to wear off. But it… hasn’t, obviously. So I’ve just been… existing. Like this.” He looked right at Goro. “Honestly, I don’t know how you do it.”

“What the hell does that mean?” Goro demanded. He glanced at Ryuji, yanking at his arm. “For _fuck’s_ sake, Sakamoto, let go, I’m not going to jump him again.”

Kurusu looked at the floor, reaching up to tug at a lock of his bangs. It looked strange, a tic that didn’t belong in Goro’s motions. “You’re so _busy_. There’s at least five reminders going off on your phone at any given moment. You have your work and your classes scheduled meticulously. I mean, I’m grateful, because that’s the only reason I’ve been able to keep up the facade at your school and your job, but good lord. It was fun being a celebrity at first, people actually liking me and stuff, but… It’s so much pressure. It’s so lonely.”

Goro scowled. Who did Kurusu think he was, marching in here and judging his life? “And yet you made no effort to find me.”

 _“Because you’re some kind of assassin and I was scared,”_ Kurusu snapped. “But now I’m seeing you’re really not scary at all when you’re not launching yourself at people like you’ve gone feral.”

Ann raised her hand. “Can we address that we’ve apparently been friends with a celebrity this whole time?”

Ryuji shoved her. “Can we address the fact that this guy just accused our friend of being a murderer?”

“Because he is!” Kurusu insisted.

“Shut up. Shadows aren’t people,” Goro huffed, and that stopped Kurusu completely.

“What the heck is a shadow?”

“Wait, is he saying you were killing people’s shadows?!” Morgana cried. “That causes them to shut down in reality! I told you that!”

Goro shook Morgana’s bag. “That’s not important right now.”

“It kind of is!”

“Now that I’ve met you, I should call the police,” Kurusu said, his voice tight with anxiety.

Goro rolled his eyes. “And what, have yourself arrested? God, you are the biggest idiot I’ve ever met, and I know these three. If you call the police, you will get yourself killed. I guarantee it.”

Kurusu raised an eyebrow. “By the scary man who owns that number I saved to my phone?”

“You _saved his number?_ Oh my god,” Goro groaned.

“It’s saved as ‘Danger’,” Kurusu said. “So, who is that?”

“Absolutely none of your business.”

Kurusu sighed. “I’ve seen you naked. And seen your Featherman merch collection. We’re at that point. And to be honest, he sounds kind of like that politician who’s been on TV recently. I know I’ve heard his voice somewhere.”

“I’m so lost,” Ryuji said. Goro said nothing, too busy watching the universe crumbling around him.

“A very powerful politician is having Goro Akechi kill people, that’s what’s happening,” Kurusu huffed. “And apparently ‘Akechi-kun’ likes having his ego stroked so much that he’s willing to murder people. Personally, I think something else is going on, otherwise this sounds _really_ weird.”

“HE’S JUST MY BOSS,” Goro yelled.

“‘Just’ your boss. Okay then.”

Ann held up her hands placatingly. “Look, I get that this whole situation is weird, but… I think you have the wrong guy. My friend, whatever his real name is, is kind of an asshole, but he’s our asshole.”

“He basically admitted to killing ‘shadows’ or whatever right in front of you!” Kurusu spluttered. “What the hell?”

Goro could feel a migraine coming on, and finally slumped in defeat. “Fine. You got me. Arrest me, officer. Fuck it. Destroy everything because you don’t understand what needs to be done.”

“What needs to be done for _what_?” Ann asked.

“It’s none of your fucking business!”

“It’s kind of too late,” Ryuji pointed out. “We’re involved whether you like it or not. And if something’s wrong, we’re gonna help our leader. That’s what Phantom Thieves do!”

“Phantom Thieves?” Kurusu said, eyes widening again, and Ann facepalmed.

“Damn it, Ryuji!”

Goro heard his own ringtone go off, and Kurusu pulled out his phone and looked at the alarm. “I have to get to rehearsal, or they’re going to get suspicious. Can we… I don’t know, trade numbers or something, so we can try to figure out how to switch back?”

“I have your number,” Goro spat. But then, quieter, “I’m assuming you know that I’m at Cafe Leblanc, in Yongen-Jaya. Come by there, and we can talk somewhere that’s not out in public.” God knew it was a miracle that no one had come to see the commotion.

Kurusu just watched him for a second, then nodded. “I will.” He hesitated, then turned and left, and Goro watched him go feeling like there was a stone in his stomach.

“Akira?” Ann asked tentatively.

“...Goro. My name is Goro.”

“...okay, Goro. Are you okay?”

“I don’t know.”

* * *

* * *

Goro was staring uncomprehendingly at his social studies homework that night when there was a knock on the locked cafe door. Morgana was with Ann for the night, after Goro had insisted he needed space to think.

He went over to let Kurusu in, standing aside wordlessly before gathering his homework, relocking the door, and leading the other boy upstairs.

“Wow. You cleaned since I last saw it,” Kurusu commented.

“Of course I did,” Goro said flatly. “It was disgusting.”

Kurusu looked around for a minute, poking at the materials on the desk, then turned back to Goro. “We should hug.”

“Why the fuck should we do that?”

“I think we both need it.”

Goro sighed. “Do what you want.”

Kurusu walked over and wrapped his arms around him. Goro felt a bizarre, out-of-place spike of pride at what good hugs he could give with Goro’s buff arms. “I hate you,” he said eventually, wrapping his arms around Kurusu in return. The hug was nice, if nothing else. “You’re the worst. I never had any doubts, and then you just… show up and steal my life.”

“I don’t want it,” Kurusu said. “Take it back.”

“I don’t know _how_.” Goro clutched him tighter without conscious thought. “What if we’re stuck like this?”

Kurusu didn’t say anything, and they stood there in silence. Goro knew what the answer was. Shido would kill him. He would eventually slip up, and Shido would have him eliminated, especially if Goro stopped doing hits, the way his traitorous thoughts had been encouraging him to. 

It would be remarkably easy to get out. If Shido had Kurusu killed, he was free. No ambiguity. Shido would think Goro Akechi was dead, and Goro could start over as Akira Kurusu for real.

But for some reason… he didn’t want that.

It was probably the Phantom Thieves’ stupid idealism rubbing off on him. Their insistence on saving and helping people. He’d pretended so long that it had become at least somewhat the truth. Even if they never switched back… He didn’t want Kurusu to die for the crime of being unlucky enough to be dropped into his life.

“We… have to change his heart,” he said quietly.

Kurusu nodded. “If you can show me how you do it, I want to help. We can do it together.” He squeezed Goro. “How do you live like this?”

“Carefully,” Goro said into his shoulder.

“It’s lonely.”

“Yeah.”

It was far too long for a normal hug, but neither of them wanted to let go. When they finally did, Akira flopped on Goro’s couch. “So we should swap stories about how it’s been living as each other. Because I have a lot of questions about the Phantom Thieves. You were talking to a cat.”

Goro hesitated, then sat down beside him. “Those will be long stories.”

Kurusu smiled, a winning Detective Prince smile, but with none of the plastic behind it when Goro used it. “We’ve got nothing but time, don’t we?”

He wasn’t wrong. The homework certainly wasn’t getting done.

“Okay, then…”

**Author's Note:**

> Alternate summary: “It’s surprising how much you can learn about Akechi when you have to BE Akechi.”
> 
> Later:  
> Futaba: I can’t believe you two got into a kin discourse  
> Futaba: about yourself
> 
> I’m not planning to do any more of this. X’D


End file.
